SUBSTITUTESRichmond: Shane Tuck replaced by Mitch Farmer in the third quarterEssendon: Kyle Reimers replaced by Alwyn Davey in the third quarter

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Stewart, Ryan, Jeffery

Official crowd: 83, 563 at the MCG

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RICHMOND has seen off a spirited challenge by an undermanned Essendon outfit to record an exhilarating 16-point win in front of 83,563 fans at the MCG on Saturday night.

The match was the seventh since the Dreamtime at the 'G concept was established in 2005 with the Tigers' - 16.9 (105) to 13.11 (89) - win establishing a 4-3 lead overall.

The Bombers lost skipper Jobe Watson and Heath Hocking after last weekend's win over the Brisbane Lions and were without players of the calibre of Tayte Pears, Jason Winderlich and Michael Hurley; but they showed plenty of fight to be just 10 points down with 27 minutes played in the last quarter.

With both teams squandering chances in the desperately tense final minutes, Tyrone Vickery rose to the occasion and sealed a famous win with his third goal of the night.Who was your ME Bank Fair Play Player of the week? Vote here

Damien Hardwick demanded a greater defensive emphasis from his players after last weekend's shootout against the Western Bulldogs and the Tigers certainly obliged their coach in the first quarter.

James Hird did his best to stretch the young Richmond back six with David Hille, Paddy Ryder and Stewart Crameri all inside attacking 50, but the Bombers only managed to get it down to their tall timber nine times.

When they did, Alex Rance, Dylan Grimes and Luke McGuane were equal to the task more often than not.

A quarter played largely between the arcs produced two goals to each team, but the Tigers were able to take a one-point lead into a second term that was the polar opposite.

In this quarter the lead changed hands seven times with Essendon edging in front by a point at the main break.

Two goals to Jack Riewoldt helped Richmond bounce out to a 22-point lead at three-quarter time, which was a game-high at that point.

Nathan Foley's goal, after the Bombers pushed hard in the early minutes of the final term, edged the lead out to 23 points, but the brave Bombers agains closed, making the Tigers earn their fourth win of the season.

Turning pointAlwyn Davey was subbed on for Kyle Reimers in the 16th minute of the third quarter and his first act was to encroach over the mark and give away a 50m penalty. Trent Cotchin's goal from close range gave the Tigers back the lead and they didn't give it up.

Talking pointThe Tigers were on the wrong end of a contentious deliberate rushed behind decision when Luke McGuane was penalised against St Kilda in round two and it happened again in the third quarter here.

Shaun Grigg looked for the safety of the goal line when he handballed through with Leroy Jetta in hot pursuit, but was dismayed to hear the umpire's whistle. Jetta's resultant goal gave the Bombers a brief lead.

Magic momentJack Riewoldt and Jake King ignited a contest that had sputtered along when they combined to produce the first goal of the game 16 minutes in. Riewoldt threw the ball onto his right boot in heavy traffic after a stoppage and appeared destined for a goal of the year contender when the ball bounced high off its point and invited the Bomber defenders to rush it through.

King, however, was the most alert player on the ground and volleyed the ball through for a team-lifting goal.

Sartorial splendourVictorian state MP Bernie Finn controversially referred to the indigenous artwork applied to the famous yellow sash as 'graffiti', but the Tigers' specially-themed Dreamtime at the 'G guernseys looked a million bucks in the heat of battle.

First quarterThe skills in the Dreamteam at the 'G game were far from flashy in the first term, with the first goal being kicked 16 minutes into the quarter, by lively Richmond forward Jake King. Dyson Heppell was gathering possessions in the back half for the Bombers - he had nine for the term, the most of any player - but Essendon lacked precision with their forward movements, despite a classy finish by David Zaharakis for the Bombers' first goal. The Tigers dominated the clearances for the term (13 to seven in Richmond's favour) but the Bombers hung on for only a one-point deficit.

Second quarterThe game broke open in the second term, with seven lead changes for the term and eight goals, four to each side. The Bombers, though, reversed the quarter-time margin, to be leading by one point at the major change. Leroy Jetta copped a nasty - but accidental - elbow to the face early in the quarter, which resulted in a free kick and a shot at goal taken by teammate Angus Monfries.

Monfries kicked the goal as Jetta left the field under the blood rule. For one of the few times this season, though, Essendon's backline was struggling with its taller opponents: Tiger key forwards Ty Vickery and Jack Riewoldt both kicked two goals for the quarter.

Third quarterJetta kicked three goals for the term, but he was playing a lone hand for the Bombers as Richmond skipped away to a 22-point lead at the last change. It was on the back of some quick ball movement from the Tigers' midfield brigade. Robin Nahas led the charge with several telling possessions in the term. After streaming down the wing, he hit Riewoldt on the lead, who kicked the goal, before Nahas himself got on the end of some work in space and kicked a goal. Essendon was winning the tackles, inside 50s, contested possessions and clearances, but clearly not making the most of it with the Tigers in control.

Fourth quarterEssendon kicked the first goal of the quarter within two minutes through Alwyn Davey to get within 16 points, and had all the momentum early but couldn't translate it on the scoreboard. A goal to Nathan Foley looked to have sealed the win, but Zaharakis' third goal, a cool kick under pressure from half-forward, kept the Bombers in the game with 10 minutes remaining. It was immediately followed by a snap from Monfries and all of a sudden the Bombers were within 11 points. In a pulsating finale, both teams had opportunities at goal. But it was a goal to Vickery from just inside 50 - his third - that finally sealed the game, the Tigers winners by 16 points and Trent Cotchin, winning the best on ground medal.

BEFORE James Hird became coach of Essendon, the perception outside the club was that he would barely have a midfield to work with.

It's an idea Jobe Watson, Heath Hocking, Sam Lonergan, Ben Howlett, Brent Stanton and Jake Melksham, among others, have worked hard to prove wrong in the first eight weeks of the season, yet it was where last night's match against Richmond appeared to bubble down to.

The Bombers have kicked a lot of good scores this year, and the Tigers' defence has been prised open for at least a part of each week. But with Watson out injured, Hocking out suspended and the best of Richmond's young talent playing though the middle, would the Bombers be able to get the ball forward enough times to win?

This game loomed as a test of how far Essendon's improved on-ball brigade has come, and it also asked a question of Richmond's golden kids: could they put away a group of players missing two on-ball keys and who they have more natural talent than, and not expose their defenders to the sort of inside-50 avalanche they probably couldn't survive? This was how things looked, at least. As is often the way, the game played out in quite a different way.

Essendon didn't ask one or two players to step in for Hocking and Watson: it asked half the team. Lonergan gritted his teeth and won a heap of clearances, and Mark McVeigh did his bit, too. Howlett, Dyson Heppell, Nathan Lovett-Murray, Angus Monfries, David Myers, Stanton and Stewart Crameri spent parts of the game on the ball, and the Bombers were good enough in there to give themselves a chance.

After Richmond dominated most of the first-quarter clearances, they won the second term 15-3, and were just as good in the third term. Heppell, McVeigh and Lonergan could barely have done any more to actually win the ball, but once the 'winning' part was done was where their problems started to set in.

After a tight first quarter - the highlight was early draft picks Reece Conca and Heppell trying to look more poised, smart and cool than each other across their respective half-back lines - Essendon started to win more clearances but fail to take make the most of them. While Patrick Ryder and David Hille had looked threatening early, and Crameri had kicked a first-quarter goal, Essendon didn't kick the ball forward with the boldness or persistence that it has for most of the year.

The Dons weren't taking marks, they weren't taking their best options and although David Zaharakis found the ball, they weren't getting it into the hands of their best deliverers. At the other other end the Tigers didn't want to let any chance pass, and got goals out of the sort of moments the Bombers were letting pass.

Jack Riewoldt wasn't grabbing marks - at least until one big grab in the goal square - but he was keeping his feet as others fell around him, and creating goals that way. Jake King wasn't as involved as he has been in recent weeks but when he did get into things, he was scoring.

At the other end, Essendon's confusion was compounded by the fact Conca, Alex Rance, Dylan Grimes and Luke McGuane, to begin with, were looking a much more assured combination than they have. They were making their spoils, getting into space, and although Essendon upped the pressure in a major way from time to time - Leroy Jetta insisted he kick three third-term goals, such was his desperation to keep chasing - they kept taking deep breaths and getting through the tough times.

This, ultimately, spared the Tigers the sort of early deficit they've had to grind down in recent weeks, and gave their midfield time to simply wear their opponents down.

Down by one point at half-time, Richmond finished the third term 22 points clear, as the likes of Cotchin, Deledio, Martin and Chris Newman became more influential, Newman getting into space that Essendon had worked hard to deny him throughout the opening half.

Essendon started to tire at the same time - the Dons beginning to look like a team in need of the bye they'll get this week, and this in turn created ''easier'' goals - to Newman in so much space he seemed to look around in disbelief, to Riewoldt out the back of a marking contest, to Nahas, who threw a quick bouncing snap forward and to the brilliant Cotchin, who sucked Alwyn Davey into giving away a 50-metre penalty after marking at half-forward and scored from the goal line. Essendon didn't give in. Lonergan worked hard from start to finish, Jetta did the same and Zaharakis did his best to keep the scoreboard ticking over. Goals to him, Davey and two to Monfries got the Bombers back to within two goals twice in the first half of the final term, but this ended up being another challenge that the Tigers were able to rise too.

They saw off a few more forward thrusts and, through Nahas and an on-the-run Tyrone Vickery, scored two goals of their own to keep the Bombers at bay each time they seemed to build up a little bit of momentum.

Richmond has looked a better, more capable side since the start of the season, yet last night they got what they hadn't yet produced: a solid, consistent, start-to-finish performance.

QUALITY DRAFT

Only Josh Caddy separated Reece Conca and Dyson Heppell on draft night last November. Richmond had its heart set on West Australian Conca for much of the year, picking him at No. 6, and Essendon grabbed Heppell. Both have made strong early impressions this year, and both were influential last night. Playing across half back, both showed off what they were drafted for: poise, ability to read the play, and nice foot skills. Expect them to be compared more than once, as their careers unfold.

DIS-ADVANTAGE

Expect the advantage rule to be discussed at length again this week, with two second quarter free kicks to Essendon interpreted in completely different ways - The first saw Mark McVeigh called back, the second had Ben Howlett streaming forward and kicking a goal from 50 metres.

tony_montana

Emma is what journos should be - knowledgeable and does a shedload of background checking/analysis. You can tell she watches a game not just drawing the short straw and watching a few highlights and looking at stats to write up a fluff piece